Alex Goode aiming for a strong return

Saracens England full-back Alex Goode is willing to “work as hard as possible” during his ongoing rehab on a shoulder injury.

Along with fellow Saracens teammates Will Fraser and Joel Tomkins, Goode missed England’s tour of Argentina this summer due to injury, and despite his frustrations of being side-lined, the Saracens academy product is not putting any time scale of his return.

“I had a shoulder operation so there will be a lot of rehab in this off-season and in the preseason still, just strengthening the shoulder, getting it back to where it was and then putting the muscle mass back on really,” Goode said.

“I haven’t put a date on a return, I don’t really like to set targets just because if something goes wrong it’s easy to get a bit down on yourself but I’ll take it week by week and then hopefully it’ll get better and better and I’ll see improvements.

“I don’t know if I’ll be back for the start of the season, it’ll be touch and go so I’ve got to just grind it out and work as hard as possible.”

Despite not wanting to put a definitive date on his comeback, Goode is preparing himself to make a big impact on both the domestic and international stage this season.

“I'll come back faster, fitter, stronger and having had a full preseason, looking after my shoulder properly, and coming back hungrier and wanting to get that England shirt back and do well for Saracens," said Goode.

"We came back in Monday for preseason and it was a good sign to see so many training early on. There's some frustration at the way that we finished last season and we want to put ourselves in a better position. Last season's gone now and we have to move on and prove people wrong, that’s our focus”.